Quiet Nights
by Pieces Of Hope
Summary: Even through the roughest or saddest of times there's always someway to be happy, even if it's a simple moment, even for Fenris. F!HawkexFenris


_A simple moment between Fenris and Hawke… I get very…very…__**very**__ tired of all the rivalmance "I HATE YOU BUT I LOVE YOU" stories that seem to be everywhere. I always have a friendly romance with Fenris…Maker forbid the man find some happiness without crazy ass tension. _

_But whatever, that's not my point. My point is, I like sweet stories and I hope that's what this comes across as!_

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><p><strong>Quiet Nights<strong>

Fenris sat alone in the mansion the way he had times before when he wasn't gallivanting around with Hawke. The same draft to which he was accustomed began blowing from the holes in the ceiling. He arched his neck to look out and smiled to himself at the clear night sky, then quickly turned his eyes to the pages of his book, another one he had stolen from Hawke. When she began teaching him to read, she started collecting books, some for herself, some for him, and he recently developed a habit of taking a new one every time he visited. Hawke just smiled when she would spot him walking towards her library and Fenris would pretend not to feel her warm gaze on his back.

When he reached the end of his page he placed the book down on the table and reached for the bottle of wine he had been drinking out of. He frowned when he found it to be empty. He reached up to toss it towards the wall than stopped. He wasn't sure how long he would be staying in this house, but now that Hawke was visiting him more often he wanted to keep it at least a little bit presentable for her. He placed it back down on the table and started for his book when a loud knock on the door interrupted him. He pushed himself out of his chair and made his way down the stairs.

As he opened it, a person cloaked and hooded was on the opposite side. In this person's hand was a basket and Fenris stepped back, not out of wary but out of surprise.

"Hawke?" he asked with a curious tone and the woman looked up. On her face was a genuinely happy, wide smile. She held up the basket she had grasped in her hands and peered inside it.

"I've brought us dinner," she chirped and Fenris stepped aside to let her pass. She made her way inside the house and bounded up the steps to the one room Fenris called his own in the entire mansion. She walked towards the table he had been sitting at earlier and set her basket down. She then removed her cloak and casually threw it on the back of one of the chairs. Almost out of routine she smoothed out her red dress as if it was wrinkled or dirty. In fact Fenris thought she looked rather lovely in it, the color brought a blush to her cheeks her armor wouldn't ever be able to do.

"Did you come here unarmed?" he inquired her instead and almost as if she knew he was going to ask that, she absently pulled out a dagger she had hidden on her person than placed it back in its hiding place and started emptying her basket, all the treats she had brought for the both of them that night. A new bottle of wine, a loaf of bread with block of cheese wrapped up for it, and finally a stew that as soon as she placed it on the table, the scent of it wafted around the room. She reached for the bow she had tied on the lid to keep it attached to the bowl and undid it, letting the strings fall on the table. She nodded once as if to assure herself everything was going as planned than reached back into her basket and pulled out two bowls, plates, and spoons. When nothing was left she smiled to herself and motioned for Fenris to come to her. He moved unsurely at first, like if he made his way too fast, the warmth she was offering him was going to disappear.

Hawke rolled her eyes and laughed leaning in for him. She grabbed his hands and pulled him towards her by force. She pushed him into the seat and kissed the top of his head, like she could read his mind, assuring him she wasn't going anywhere. She moved to grab his bowl and began spooning the stew into it and put it in front of him.

"I swear," she mumbled, placing a slice of bread and cheese on a plate and passing it towards him, "if I wasn't around I think you would forget to eat," she was silent for a moment than nodded. "And bottles of wine and pints from the Hanged Man don't count."

Fenris laughed and nodded his head, agreeing with her. He still wasn't used to someone actually caring about him the way Hawke did. He watched carefully as Hawke took her seat across from him and poured herself a bowl. She smiled up at him softly, gave a quiet thanks to the Maker, and the two of them began to eat.

"I've started a new book," Fenris mentioned off-handedly, stirring the contents in his bowl before scooping some up and placing it in his mouth.

"Have you?" Hawke asked in return, seriously interested. She glanced around the room and spotted the book she had moved as she set the table. "That's one of my favorites. When you're finished with it we can talk about it. I wouldn't want to give anything away," she quietly laughed to herself and went on to make quiet small talk with him about simple things. He was amazed how she was able to do this, talk to him comfortably, to love him and forgive him after his three years of cowardice. He answered to everything she asked, and listened to what she spoke of, but in the back of his mind he couldn't make that disbelief disappear.

As soon as they were finished Hawke cleaned her mouth with the napkin that had been on her lap and set it aside. She stood up slowly and walked over towards Fenris' chair. He turned and looked up at her and she placed her hands on his face, kissing his lips softly and quickly before pulling away.

"What was that for?" he wondered, not that he didn't mind it; in fact he loved her kisses.

"Hmm," was all she managed to say as she grabbed his hands and pulled him up. He looked down at her and that amazement and disbelief that she wanted him still lingered in his mind, but he pushed it away as he moved in to kiss her first this time. His arms wrapped around her as he brought her in closer, not wanting to let her go. That fear he used to feel, the apprehension of being with her was something he no longer felt. Even that doubt he would sometimes feel seemed small compared to the happiness that over took him by being with her, to enjoy the small things like dinner or sharing a kiss.

He pulled away and looked at Hawke in the manner he had times before, soft yet intense and he smiled as she blushed under his stare. He knew she wasn't the pillar of confidence the world placed on her shoulders.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she tried to remove herself from his arms but Fenris refused to let her. And rather than protest, Hawke just laughed, it was light and clear like a wind chime.

"No reason," he only said that because there were a million reasons why he looked at her, with puppy dog eyes as it had been described annoyingly.

Hawke lowered her head and let it rest on his shoulder, she sighed like she was trying to take him in, take in every little moment the two of them had missed the last three years. But Hawke waited patiently, always knowing that Fenris was meant to be by her side, and the waiting paid off.

"Did you mean what you said?" she wondered quietly and the grip Fenris had on her loosened enough to let her step back and clearly look into his jade eyes, deep and powerful.

"About what?" he asked her in return, lifting his hand to brush stray hairs out of her eyes. It was getting harder to concentrate with her so close, but he forced himself to listen to her question.

"When you said you'd walk into the future with me, did you mean it?" Suddenly it seemed she had urge to know, like she needed some type of conformation.

"Yes," it was all he felt he needed to say. It was impossible, he thought, to see his future without her in it. He wasn't sure exactly what that meant yet, how could he? All he knew was that where ever she led, he was going to follow her.

"I'll be with you forever then," in her voice was something like a guarantee. She was seeing things he couldn't but one day hoped he would.

"I'll have it no other way," he promised in return. For some reason he felt that these sweet nothing promises would be repeated in the future, their future.

Hawke said nothing after that as her hands found their way to Fenris' arms. They slid down slowly until she laced her fingers with his. Almost daringly he felt, he pulled her towards his bed, stashed away in the corner of his room beneath the holes in the ceiling that let the draft in.

_He would take Hawke as his own, and he would be hers, underneath the stars that peeked and twinkled from the sky._


End file.
